Somers repeats as Class S champs

MERIDEN – One of sports’ oldest cliches is, “It’s tough to beat a team three times in a season.”

That saying proved prophetic Saturday, as Somers came from behind to defeat NCCC foe Coventry, 3-2 in double overtime to capture the Class S championship Saturday at Falcon Field in Meriden.

Coventry had defeated the Spartans twice during the regular season.

Corey Brown scored two goals, including the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick in the first overtime. He also set up the Spartans’ initial goal in the first six minutes of the contest.

“When you have someone as fast and as skilled as Corey Brown, if you give up the middle, we’ll make you pay,” Somers head coach Rick Kelley said.

Somers, which was Class S co-champion with East Hampton in 2014, looked to break things open early, as three-way passing from Brown to Domenic Giachello to John Poitras resulted in a score just 5:52 into the contest.

The momentum continued in the Spartans’ favor with less than 15 minutes left in the first half, when goalkeeper Broderick Rheault dove to his right to stop a penalty kick by Coventry’s Jack Galey.

After intermission, Coventry took control, and tied the game on a goal by Steve Voros off a corner kick just past the midway point of the second half. The Patriots then took the lead with 7:57 to play on a goal by Alex Erskine.

Somers did not fold, however, and Brown capitalized on a Coventry defensive miscue to tie it at 2-2 with 3:32 remaining in regulation time.

In the first of two 15-minute overtime periods, Brown was fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick, which he converted for a 3-2 Somers lead.

The Somers defense turned up the heat and Rheault continued to turn away every Patriot opportunity. He finished with nine saves.

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About Kevin Hayes

Kevin Hayes is publisher of TheSportsDept.com and TheSportsDept.com-Print Editions. Kevin has an extensive business and journalism background and worked as a staff writer at The Boston Globe as well as The Hartford Courant. Kevin's passion for local, youth sports was the driving force behind the creation of TheSportsDept.com back in 2008.